Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and the modern Republican party as we know it have mainstreamed most of David Duke's rhetorical positions, so why shouldn't he run for office?
The former grand wizard of the Klan has undoubtedly asked himself the same question and did not come up with a sufficient answer as he now says he's planning to run for Congress.
Duke said the killing of five white police officers in Dallas by a black militant pushed him to the brink of running.
“I don’t take any satisfaction in the fact that I was right, but I have been right,” he said. “Unless European Americans stand up, they are going to lose everything they care about in this country.”
What is equally amusing or depressing, depending on your perspective, is that Duke may challenge Republican Representative Steve Scalise. Scalise himself has well-known ties to white supremacists, but he's not as open about it as David Duke is. Duke says Scalise is a "sellout."
Duke has approximately 10 days to make his candidacy official before missing the deadline for registration. It's possible he will not actually run, but it's plausible.
White supremacists across the country have been emboldened by Donald Trump's candidacy and, the way they see it, they're winning. They believe they're gaining ground. I'm not sure they're wrong and as they gain ground more of them will run for office.
The Republican party and their leaders like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan are responsible for this. They would support and vote for someone who is openly racist just so they can repeal Obamacare. These are craven, cynical people of unparalleled depravity.